[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s growth of household loans slowed down in May after tighter rules on mortgage loans came into force, government data showed on June 12.

Outstanding household loans extended by the nation’s financial institutions rose by 6.8 trillion won (US$6.33 billion) last month, compared with a monthly expansion of 10 trillion won in April, according to the data by the Financial Services Commission.

In the first five months of this year, household loans grew by 27.4 trillion won, compared with a growth of 32.5 trillion won for the same period last year.

A tighter lending rule was adopted at commercial banks in March to better assess a borrower’s repayment ability and reduces the risk of default.

Savings banks and other financial institutions will soon adopt the tighter lending rule.